Halloween excitement in Canastota

Non-Scary Fun at the Great Swamp

Adventure out to the Great Swamp Conservancy of Can astot a for non-scary Halloween Fun Days Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There are rooms filled with welcoming surprises and a “treat not a trick” is awaiting for all little monsters. Follow the interactive paths to see what the “Good Witch” is brewing, Year of the Heron nest, Balloon Ghosts, Shark Tank, Scare Crow Convention, Creatures of the Night, Aliens Have Landed, and much more! The Swamp Snappers Camera Club will be taking photos in the spooky Old Farm House/office of individuals or families in Halloween costumes or of your pet for a very minimal cost.

Food will be available at Lady Bug Café. Enter the coloring contest by picking up a flyer at the Canastota and Chittenango public libraries. Winners will be announced Sunday night.

Admission is $3 for children 16 and younger, accompanying parents/adults $1.

Special this year, after theGSC FunDays fundraiser on Sunday, the Mohawk Valley Strings will present “AHalloween Spooktacular”. This special 45minute costume concert starts at 4 p.m. in the GSC museum and members consists of area youth to perform a haunting experience through music. The String Orchestra is lead by Liz Friedel, Allyson Sklar, with conductors: Joan Batson andHannah Roth. Bring the kids, wear costumes and join the Strings group for a trunk or treat following the concert. All are welcome to participate in the trunk or treat!! Deck out the back of your cars, or trunk and passout candy. This is a free concert but donations are welcome to support the Mohawk Valley Strings.

Halloween in Hamilton

The third annual village-wide Halloween in Hamilton on Oct. 31 will be a giant celebration with crafts, trick- or-treating, and a free movie.

From3-4 p.m., head over to the Colgate Bookstore (3UticaSt.) for a gigantic celebration. Create a glowing Dream Jar, design your own enormous BFG ears, and snack on some Frobscottle.

Then, join the costume parade down Lebanon Street from 4- 4:30 p.m. Local shops will hand out treats as the children parade through town. Lebanon Street will be closed for traffic from 3:30-4:30 p.m. for safety.

Starting at 4:30 p.m., the Hamilton Movie Theater (7 Lebanon St.) will play the 2016 film, “The BFG” (rated PG, 1h 57m) for free, sponsored by the Colgate Bookstore. Based on a book by Roald Dahl, “The BFG” tells the story of an orphan little girl who befriends a benevolent giant who takes her to Giant Country, where they attempt to stop the man-eating giants that are invading the human world.

After the movie, head out through the village of Hamilton for a night of safe, fun trick-ortreating. For more information, call 315-228-6960 or visit www. colgatebookstore.com/

Sherrill Library Hours Changed

The Sherrill Kenwood Library, located at 543 Sherrill Road, has changed their hours to better serve the community. The new hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The library is pleased to work with two groups serving as col-

lection points for their community outreach missions.

Gently used coats, jackets, snow pants, mittens and scarves will be collected until Nov. 7 to be donated to the 19th annual Coat Give Away held Saturday, Nov. 10 at the Oneida First United Methodist Church.

Shoes will be collected until Dec. 1 to aid the Greater Utica Sunrise Rotary Club. All donated shoes will be redistributed by Funds2orgs to help impoverished people start, maintain and grow businesses in countries such as Haiti, Honduras and other nations in Central America and Africa.

Donations are accepted during library hours only. Please do not leave items outside the library.

Saturday, Nov. 3 at 11 a.m. will be a story time focusing on Veterans Day. We will make cards to send to local Veterans thanking themfor their service.

Wampsville Leaf Pickup

The Village of Wampsville Fall Leaf Pickup will be held on Saturday, Nov. 3, and Saturday, Nov. 10.

Materials being picked up will be restricted to yard debris, including leaves, grass, weeds, brush, vines and tree limbs up to two inches in diameter. No large trees or large tree limbs will be picked up.

Leaves, grass, weeds, brush and vines must be bagged in PAPER BAGS ONLY. Tree limbs (up to two inches in diameter) must be stacked and preferably bundled. All items must be curbside. The village reserves the right to not collect items that are not properly prepared according to the above.

Please contact the village clerk or stop in the village hall with any questions.

Morrisville Library Events

Shop for the library this holiday season from Nov. 1 to Jan. 19. There are several items the library needs! Grab a Christmas tag off their giving tree of some- thing you would like to donate to the library. Buy it, donate it, whatever it says and bring the tag and the item in as soon as you can! All donations should be turned in by Jan. 31, 2019.

The library’s silent auction opens on Monday, Nov.

5 and runs through Friday, Dec. 7. Stop in and bid on several items. Perfect gifts to bid on, win and give to loved ones this holiday season! The silent auction is being held in the library’s program room.

Art Zimmer will conduct a virtual walk through downtown Hamilton storefront by storefront, pointing out what business is in each storefront today and discussion what business was located there in the 1950’s, on Friday, Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. For longtime residents, it will be a fun nostalgic trip down memory lane. For newer residents, it will be an interesting surprise of what the businesses were in Hamilton over 60 years ago. Mr. Zimmer moved to Hamilton in 1948. He will add comments of how changes in society have influenced the changes in the business makeup of downtown Hamilton. The talk is free and open to the public. The virtual walk does not leave the library.

Bring your own Nerf equipment (darts too–please label them) and join us for open play around the library on Saturday, Nov. 17 from4:30-7 p.m. Bring your own Nerf equipment (darts too–please label them) and join us for open play around the library! See if the library stacks provide you enough shelter from getting hit by a friend’s foam dart! Open to ages 10 and up; so adults are welcome too! Everyone must bring a snack and beverages will be provided. ONLY 16 spaces are available!! ALL participants MUST sign up in the library and get a permission slip to return completed the night of. We will not allow people to complete permission slips at the door.

Punch Card Price Increase

On Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 the Madison County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution that would increase the 2019 Solid Waste Punch Card by twenty cents per punch to $3 per punch or $15 per Solid Waste Punch Card (each card includes five punches).

This change comes due to the increase in cost to managing the waste brought to the landfill in Lincoln.

Unlike previous years, punch cards purchased prior to Jan. 1, 2019 will be honored. So if a resident has a punch card has not been used up yet they can still use that at the landfill.

Solid Waste Punch Cards may be purchased from the Solid Waste Office and Board- authorized vendors. The full list of authorized punch card vendors is available at: https://www.madisoncounty.ny.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=273.

The new Solid Waste Punch Card fee takes effect Jan. 1, 2019.